Judgement Blood v1c1-2

The Tactical Anti-Vampire Execution Department.
More commonly known as the Vamp Kill Squad.
It was a secret military agency formed to maintain public order in the face of the rampant crooked vampires.
Its headquarters was in Akihabara.
It was located in a skyscraper that towered far above the others around it.
Its lights were switched on around the clock, as if to demonstrate their aim of opposing the creatures of the night.
Within the building, many people wearing black tactical vests hurried back and forth. At first glance, it seemed like a police or JSDF organization, but most of them did not have any firearms, instead carrying around long, silver tools as well as big tonfas. Upon closer inspection, there was even a white knight dressed in antique armor present.
And in this questionable space, the red-haired person wearing a school uniform while walking around did not feel out of place at all.
“As always, it’s like Halloween in here.”
Shingu Ibuki let out words of amazement while overlooking the workplace that still remained highly productive in the middle of the night.
“Vampires have infiltrated Club FANG in Shibuya! Half of the people there have been transformed!”
“Are you fucking serious? All our units that can handle something of that scale are already deployed!”
“Security is requesting assistance! Doesn’t matter who!”
“Shit, they assured us they’d be fine by themselves, but they can’t even protect anyone!”
The whole building was in a clamor. But this wasn’t an uncommon sight; it was daily business for the Vamp Kill Squad. The scene unfolding was just like the one yesterday, the day before that, and last week.
Even so, no one got used to it. Rather, a majority were growing tired of it. This was a nonsensical job that was completely separated from society, but even the recent activities were growing excessive. Unpaid overtime, severe overwork and other abuses ran rampant.
Ibuki himself engaged in exhausting work daily, and his eyelids gradually grew heavy. He had just completed enough work to the point where he thought he could take a small break in the nap room, but he received a rare call back to headquarters from his superior instead.
As he could not ignore it, Ibuki took the elevator.
“Excuse me.”
He entered a room in the top floor. A large marble plate with the words “Director’s office” carved in it hung outside.
The interior was furnished minimally for functionality, with not one hint of distractions. The only object of note in the room was an empty energy drink can on the desk.
“Alright, alright, good job.”
A girl was waiting at the desk. She was of high school age, just like Ibuki.
She wore a yellow-brown trench coat over her faded suit. However, there was a dark shadow underneath her eyes that did not match her youthful appearance. There was a tiredness overflowing from her that exceeded anyone else’s in the building.
Even the stylish skull ring on the girl’s finger gave her a sinister aura.
“Hey, that was nothing worth praise. It was just cleaning up some leftovers.”
Ibuki said his complaint, but the girl struck back even further.
“You were the only one who was available, so I had no other choice. Isn’t that right?”
The girl was Ibuki’s superior. The commander of the Vamp Kill Squad. In other words, the executive director.
Her name was Hirasaka Hazuki. She was a talented woman born into the famous Hirasaka magical bloodline.
“Hazuki, you really make me your errand boy way too much…”
“Ibuki, you’re too picky with choosing work, which is exactly why I have to manage it for you as the director. If I was thanking you for something like bringing cakes here then I’d understand, but you have no reason to complain for this.”
“I’m not picky. I’m just honest with myself and everyone else.”
“That’s called being picky.”
The irrational anti-vampire industry had become a meritocracy. Hazuki was still young, but she had managed to oust the previous commander and remove all doubt about her capability. Because of her bloodline, she also had access to a secret service of her own, so her detractors could not do much.
However, because that was the base of her authority, everyone around her kept her at a respectful distance.
Among the few exceptions, she was able to relax herself around Ibuki, who was in the same year as her. They weren’t able to meet everyday, but everytime they did they would excitedly engage in conversation.
“By the way, has Director-dono heard about that?”
“About what?”
“Last week, the number of vampire incidents in Tokyo jumped ahead of New York’s to become number one in the world.”
“Ah, you mean that…”
“It felt like something that would happen eventually.”
“You sound so happy about it. Isn’t this an unprecedented disgrace to the Vamp Kill Squad?”

Image: https://i.imgur.com/XbUkrDQ.png

“Isn’t it a good thing to become number one, no matter what the category?”
“There are exceptions to that, you know…”
“I mean, I somewhat expected it to happen. In the years since the vampires’ existence was revealed, the number of incidents in New York has somewhat stabilized, while Tokyo’s has skyrocketed. I’m certain that the United States will eradicate their vampires in the near future.”
Ibuki’s opinion,without a doubt, reflected the current reality.
The influence of the biggest veteran anti-vampire organization ‘Monastery’ had not managed to take root in Tokyo. There was a lack of coordination on a strategic scale, and also a lack of information exchange, so the establishment of vampire countermeasures for the city was too late.
Furthermore, a strange culture of fascination had developed in this eastern land, and the general public was astonishingly tolerant of vampires.
As a result, the influx of vampire incidents was tolerated, resulting in the present situation.
“...Hey, do you know what Tokyo’s been called recently?”
Hazuki asked, and Ibuki responded immediately.
“The blood-sucking city.”
“That’s right, we’re the blood-sucking city. It’s even worse than being called the city of hell. The city itself is the one that sucks people’s blood.”
The blood-sucking city. Also known as the blood-sucking paradise.
In other words, an all-you-can-suck buffet. It was as if the vampires used Tokyo as a drink bar.
“The city is so unstable that even the Olympics were cancelled…”
“Please don’t bring up that topic. I don’t want to recall the shock that happened that day…”
It was a funny story to Ibuki, but to Hazuki, it was an unpleasant memory that she still couldn’t process completely.
It was the day that the privilege of hosting the Olympics was stripped thanks to the vampires. To the Vamp Kill Squad that did their best to protect society, that day was nothing but a sheer disgrace.
“Really, there’s no more hope for this world. At this rate, Tokyo will fall before the next Olympics.”
Coming from a third party, Ibuki’s words were no joke. If the vampires’ rampages were not stopped, then Tokyo cease to be a symbol of humanity, and turn into a ghost town.
“As the one at the top, shouldn’t you be taking a second look at the policies of your department?”
“Absolutely! That’s exactly why I called you over to talk.”
Ibuki was casually sarcastic, but Hazuki took the bait.
“Hey, Ibuki. What do you think about the future of the Vamp Kill Squad?”
It was another broad question, but because of the formal tone, Ibuki let loose his frank opinion.
“First and most importantly, we need to secure capable personnel as well as increase our fighting strength. This shouldn’t be to the level of overwork too. Leaving it to the established families isn’t enough; we ended up getting ridiculed with the blood-sucking city name after all.”
There was no sarcasm this time. It was the absolute truth.
“Nonetheless, the anti-vampire industry is destined to have a shortage of talent, and it’s a burden that the Vamp Kill Squad has been carrying every since its founding. If we could solve that problem overnight, we wouldn’t have so many issues..”
A vampire hunter. That was the name given to the anti-vampire specialists in the Blood Hunter Squad. Unfortunately, it was not easy to train them.
There were many types of vampires. Their attributes were not uniform, and each individual was very different from the others. For example, there were the beasts, spirits and the undead, so a specialist would need to learn to counter at least those three types before being able to engage in combat.
However, there has been a shortage in capable anti-vampire teachers, so there was no way to prepare sufficient numbers of capable personnel. And ever since the end of the 19th century, the power of the vampires has greatly increased, while humanity has grown weaker by the year.
“If you really want to change the status quo, you’ll need brace yourself for the impossible.”
Hazuki nodded fervently in response to Ibuki.
“That’s exactly the case. Just as I would expect from the pride of the strike team’s Ace of Aces. You truly understand the impending crisis that everyone turns a blind eye to.”
It was an indirect statement with a clear intent. Ibuki chose not to beat around the bush any more. With a clear scowl, he brought up the main topic at hand.
“Right now, the Vamp Kill Squad is clearly at a disadvantage.”
“Mm.”
“To escape from this crisis, we need to take drastic measures.”
“Mm.”
“Therefore, I think I will lift the ban on the usage of vampiric powers.”
“Ah, you’ve made a decision.”
“...you don’t seem surprised.”
“I was expecting something ever since I was called here.”
“What, that’s not very nice at all. You’re my subordinate, so please react more like one.”
What Hazuki had just lightly declared ended up becoming a historic decision.
The usage of vampiric powers.
That particular topic had been hotly debated to a stalemate for decades. The ‘Monastery’ had protested, the ‘Night Hunters’ had fought against it, not to mention humanity refusing out of pride. The main issue was a humanitarian one, and many saw it as being excessively cruel.
“I know the risks, which is why this will be a secret mission.”
Ibuki accepted Hazuki’s orders, and guessed the nature of the matter.
“Ah, I knew it. I don’t expect the detractors to be convinced.”
“It’s a waste of time to argue with those stubborn asses.”
“In other words, you decided on this alone?”
“Correct.”
“Wow, they’re all going to get so angry.”
“...I know, right?”
Hazuki’s fatigue, at its peak that day, was in clear display.
“Their views are so deeply entrenched, but that’s even more reason why success is critical. If we fail to recruit any good vampires, we’re going to get sacked so hard…”
Facing her ghastly look, Ibuki raised a point of concern.
“Hazuki, isn’t this a bit too desperate?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t think of this if I was in a good state of mind.”
Hazuki replied.
“Vampires just keep on appearing one after the other. We don’t have the time to wait-and-see, or do trial-and-error. If we want results now, we’ll have to play foul.”
After that, Hazuki gave her trusted Blood Hunter Squad an order.
“Recruit the True Ancestor.”